Cyclones Game Preview - Cincinnati at Evansville

Cyclones Game Preview - Cincinnati at Evansville

CINCINNATI CYCLONES (26-15-4-1)
vs.
EVANSVILLE ICEMEN (16-26-1-3)


Click here for tonight's game note packet

DATE: Friday, February 1, 2013
TIME: 8:15pm ET
SITE: Ford Center - Evansville, IN
WEBCAST: CyclonesHockey.com (America One)
RADIO: FM 100 The FAN (100.3 FM)

NHL AFFILIATES
Cincinnati Cyclones: Florida Panthers, Nashville Predators
Evansville IceMen: St. Louis Blues, Columbus Blue Jackets

NEXT HOME GAME
Tuesday, February 12 vs. Fort Wayne Komets - 7:30pm
BIG BEER TUESDAY / NASCAR NIGHT


TONIGHT'S MATCHUP: After dropping last night’s game to Toledo, the Cyclones are on the road for the remainder of the weekend as they battle the Evansville IceMen tonight in hopes of widening the gap between the first and last place teams in the North Division. The Clones have earned a 5-3 record in the season series with their Indiana rivals, outscoring them by a 29-22 margin. The last time the teams met, Cincinnati earned a convincing 7-3 win at U.S. Bank Arena.

SCOUTING THE ICEMEN: Rich Kromm’s club has lost four consecutive games and have slipped to a whopping 21 points out of the division lead. Sporting the ECHL’s worst team defense, Evansville has been outscored 17-7 during their recent slide and are allowing an average of 3.54 goals per game. On the offensive bright side, the IceMen are led by veterans Todd Robinson and Josh Beaulieu who have combined for 79 points this season. Robinson’s 37 assists are the most of any ECHL player this season. St. Louis Blues goaltending prospect Paul Karpowich has started in seven of Evansville’s last eight games and has amassed a 7-11-1-1 record this season with a 3.13 goals-against average. Against Cincinnati, Karpowich is 1-3-0 with a 3.02 GAA. Paul Dainton has also seen action for the IceMen this year, going 2-6-0-1 with a 3.67 GAA.

Looking North: The Clones hope they can continue to play strong in divisional play. Against the North this season, they have the best winning percentage of any team from the North (.600). They hold a 13-8-3-1 combined mark against Toledo, Fort Wayne, Kalamazoo, and Evansville this season.

Still Killing It: Another major consistency for the Clones this year has been its penalty kill. After another solid weekend, they have the third-best PK unit in the ECHL (84.4%). At U.S. Bank Arena, they are even more automatic…extinguishing 88.3% of their opponents power plays.

SEASON SERIES (13 TOTAL, 5 REMAINING)
Nov. 15 Evansville 4 at Cincinnati 3 Final
Nov. 28 Evansville 1 at Cincinnati 4 Final
Nov. 30 Evansville 1 at Cincinnati 6 Final
Dec. 5 Evansville 2 at Cincinnati 3 Final SO
Dec. 8 Cincinnati 1 at Evansville 4 Final
Dec. 29 Cincinnati 4 at Evansville 3 Final
Jan. 6 Cincinnati 1 at Evansville 4 Final
Jan. 25 Evansville 3 at Cincinnati 7 Final
Feb. 1 Cincinnati at Evansville 7:15 pm CST
Mar. 3 Cincinnati at Evansville 7:15 pm CST
Mar. 9 Evansville at Cincinnati 7:35 pm EST
Mar. 29 Evansville at Cincinnati 7:35 pm EDT
Mar. 30 Evansville at Cincinnati 7:35 pm EDT